A couple of weeks later and the wedding was drawing close, the dress had been bought, Robyn and Linda had been asked to be bridesmaids, Zoe had let them choose their own dresses, they'd picked out a chiffon royal blue number. Max had sorted his and Lofty's suits. Charlie and Tess were doing a joint reading during the ceremony and the flowers had been chosen.

Zoe was stressing about guests and table plans.

"Do we even need a table plan?" Max had asked innocently.

"You'd better be kidding me Max! Of course we do, do you think I'm doing this for the good of my health?!" Zoe responded.

"Woah, calm down, everything will be fine, don't worry about it." Max said.

"You don't get it do you? This is meant to be our wedding Max, why aren't you bothered about it?" Zoe asked.

"That's unfair Zoe and you know it." Max told her.

Zoe held her head in her hands. "I know, I'm sorry, I'm just thinking maybe it was too ambitious organising a wedding in four weeks."

"Listen to me," Max took her hand, "it's going to be ok, as long as you and I get married, that's all that matters, do you understand?" Zoe nodded.

"I didn't ask you to marry me so you could stress out over flower arrangements and who's sitting with who, I asked you because I wanted us to be together forever, isn't that what's important?" Max asked.

"You're right, I'm sorry, I just want it to be perfect." Zoe said.

"And it will be." Max told her. "Now, I've got you something."

"Max! You don't need to keep buying me things." Zoe said.

"Don't get too excited, It's just something to help with the wedding stress." He handed her a family size chocolate bar.

"Oh Max! You know me so well! This is amazing thank you." Zoe said appreciatively.

"Anything for you." He kissed the top of her head.

Zoe's phone rang. It was her mum.

"Hello, mum? Is everything alright?" She asked.

"Oh sweetheart, it's your father, he's been admitted to hospital, he's taken a turn for the worst." Zoe's mum told her.

"But he can't! What about the wedding? I need him there!" Zoe cried.

"Zoe, he's tough, that's where you get it from, he's still determined he's going to be walking you down that aisle no matter what." Her mum said.

"I really hope so, I'm going to come up and see him." Zoe told her mum.

"Ok darling, I want you to be prepared though, he's very weak."

"Mum, I'll be fine I'm a doctor, I see these things all the time." Zoe told her.

"Yes but not your own father, I'm just saying, you'll be shocked how quickly he's deteriorated."

"Ok mum, I'll see you soon." Zoe hung up.

How had he got so bad? She'd been in regular contact, had they been hiding his true condition from her?

"What's the matter?" Max asked.

"It's dad, they've taken him into hospital, I need to go up there." Zoe replied.

"Ok, shall I come with you?" Max asked, concerned.

"No, I'll be fine, you need to go to work, can't have Connie on your back." Zoe told him.

"I guess, drive carefully, I know what you're like." Max aimed at Zoe.

"I will, I'll see you later."

Zoe went to change before setting off, it was going to be a long drive.

All the way to Liverpool she could only think about her father, the only man that had been a constant present in her life, how he'd told her what she needed to do with her life when she'd left Holby and how he wasn't going to be around much longer. A tear rolled from her eye which she immediately wiped away.

"Pull yourself together Zoe." She told herself.

After a three and a half hour drive Zoe pulled up outside the hospital. It was so much bigger than Holby, it had been so long since she'd stepped foot in another hospital. As she entered the main building she looked around for directions to the ward, this hospital she didn't know like the back of her hand.

Zoe headed up the stairs and approached the ward. She went over to the nurses, "Excuse me? I'm looking for Richard Hanna? I'm his daughter."

"Oh you must be Zoe?" A blonde nurse asked.

"Erm,yeah." Zoe replied.

"He talks about you all of the time, he's so proud of you," the nurse told her, "he's in room four."

"Thank you." Zoe said and went to the room, her dad was in the end bed. She rushed over, tears in her eyes as she saw him.

"Oh dad." She cried. Her dad was laid down, what used to be a full face was now so gaunt, his body was skin and bone.

"Now now, none of those tears!" Richard said. "I don't want any sadness ok?"

Zoe nodded. "Why didn't you tell me how bad it was?"

"Because for the first time in your life Zoe, you are genuinely happy, we didn't want you to be worrying about me when you should be concentrating on your life now." Richard told her with a smile.

"Are you in pain? I should speak to a doctor." Zoe said.

"Don't you dare, just for today you're not a doctor, you're my daughter. I can tell you what you need to know. I can tell you I avoided going to a doctor at all costs and its probably my own fault I didn't seek treatment sooner. It was too late when I found out and now it's spreading rapidly, I am in pain but more so because of my reluctance to see a doctor and the effect it's having on you and your mother." Richard said sadly.

Zoe had never seen him like this, he'd been the happy go lucky, positive influence in her life. Much like Max was now.

"I may not have long left but I don't want to spend my last days in this place, I want to make it up to you by giving you away on your wedding day, my body may be giving up on me but I am not giving up on my body."

The tears returned for Zoe, this time she couldn't stop. He would never stop fighting unless until it was over, he wanted his last memory to be his daughters wedding, she desperately hoped it would be.